W.A. Criswell, a legendary Texas Baptist pastor who influenced a generation of Southern Baptist preachers and was a central figure in Dallas and national religious life for more than five decades, died Jan. 10. He was 92.
A driving force in the conservative takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), Criswell was pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church, Dallas, since 1995. He served as pastor from 1944 until 1991 when he was given the title of senior pastor.
Criswell, who had been in ill health since fighting colon cancer in 1998, died at the home of longtime friend Dallas real estate developer Jack Pogue. He had been in frail health for more than a year and had been hospitalized several times for digestive and cardiac problems.
The fiery preacher, who was born Wally Amos Criswell, was among the best-known Baptist pastors in America in the latter half of the 20th century. Some compared his fame to that of evangelist Billy Graham, a friend whom Criswell enlisted as a long- distance member of the Dallas church years ago.
Graham said Criswell will be remembered for his “electric” preaching style.
“It is almost impossible to evaluate the life and ministry of W.A. Criswell,” Graham said. “He had a multiplicity of gifts. He had one of the most loving hearts I have ever known.”
Criswell was a little-known pastor from Oklahoma, having served two churches there, when First, Dallas, called him to succeed the legendary George W. Truett as pastor in 1944.
During his tenure at First, Dallas, the church grew in influence, membership and funding. In its heyday, the church was the largest congregation in the SBC, boasting nearly 30,000 members, five blocks of property in downtown Dallas and nearly 30 mission congregations.
By the 1960s, Criswell had become the most powerful leader among Southern Baptists. Considered the father of the fundamentalist movement in the SBC, he was twice elected president of the organization and served on many boards of both the SBC and Baptist General Convention of Texas.
SBC President James Merritt said Criswell will be remembered for leading the way as a megachurch pastor, an influential preacher and “the theological father” of the conservative resurgence in the denomination.
“We are the largest evangelical denomination in the world and have done something unprecedented in denominational history — a theological turn of 180 degrees,” Merritt said. “That’s directly due to the influence of Dr. Criswell.”
Paige Patterson, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., and former president of Criswell College in Dallas, said biblical interpretation was a key aspect of the fight between conservative and moderate Southern Baptists and one that Criswell took a stand on in his pulpit many times.
“He basically addressed the questions of denominational slippage and the need to return to the faith of the fathers as eloquently as anybody ever could have,” said Patterson, one of the architects of the conservative resurgence who was influenced by Criswell. “He began to ring those bells and there many of us who listened quite attentively.”
Criswell was the author of 54 books that are widely read, particularly by fundamentalists. Among those was “Why I Preach That the Bible is Literally True,” a volume considered to have helped launch the conservative movement that shook the SBC in the 1980s and ’90s.
Several U.S. presidents visited Criswell’s church when he was preaching, including Gerald Ford. The pastor endorsed Ford for election in 1976 although he was running against Criswell’s fellow Southern Baptist, Jimmy Carter. When the Republican Party renominated Ronald Reagan for president in 1984, Criswell closed the convention in prayer.
“Dr. Criswell was an important spiritual leader in America,” President Bush said in a statement. “He was a man of deep and abiding faith who brought comfort to the thousands who heard his message of hope, love and compassion.”
His outspoken convictions also made Criswell known around the world. A staunch defender of Israel, he was honored by Prime Minister Menachem Begin for his support of the Jewish state in 1988, and in 1971 his tour group was given an audience by Pope Paul VI.
Criswell was a graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., where he earned a master’s of theology degree and a doctor of philosophy degree, with a major in New Testament interpretation. While attending seminary, he served as pastor of several small churches in Kentucky.
Despite his fame and stature, Criswell was not without controversy. For many years, he opposed having black members in his church. Criswell changed his mind in 1969, telling his deacons, “I came to the profound conclusion that to separate by coercion the body of Christ on the basis of skin pigmentation was unthinkable, un-Christian and unacceptable to God.”
Criswell’s immediate successor at First, Dallas, Joel Gregory, resigned 21 months after coming to the church in 1990. Gregory’s departure led to accusations Criswell was unwilling to relinquish power — a charge vigorously denied by many church members.
Memorial services for Criswell were scheduled for Jan. 16. He is survived by his wife, Betty; daughter, Mabel Ann, and two grandsons.
(BP, ABP, RNS)
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